Florange. What if the A31 bis passed over the wastelands of the ArcelorMittal coking plant?

More than a year after the end of the public consultation, studies are continuing for the development of the A31 from Richemont to the Luxembourg border. The creation of a new section of motorway bypassing Thionville and the principle of a concession (a toll) have been confirmed. It remains to define the route of this new section. After years of debate, crossing Florange but in a tunnel is ultimately the solution supported by the majority of elected officials of Moselle-Nord.

Several variants of the underground route under Florange are now being studied by the State services and were mentioned during a monitoring committee in December. A first victory for the mayor of Florange, Remy Dick, “we have won the idea of ​​a deep tunnel”. But concerns persist. The crossing of the city by a simple “covered trench” (the F4 time zone via the already frozen ground Editor’s note), strongly contested by the residents, is still on the table. The State does not exclude either the F10 route (by Illange), which would be “a compromise by default”.

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A new possibility

But, the mayor of Florange believes in an alternative. “There is a new fact today: the closure of the ArcelorMittal coking plant. The release of this land offers an opportunity ”, assures the elected official who has just called, by mail, the Prefect of Moselle.

For Rémy Dick, “looking at a map is an obvious solution. “The dismantling of the coking plant site (50 hours on the ban of the neighboring town of Serémange-Erzange) may allow the passage of the motorway which would join the A31 in a straight line along the slag” after one less tunnel one kilometer below the urbanized area of ​​Florange ”.

This route, never before envisaged, would have the other advantages of preserve the surroundings of the Château de Bétange but also to promote the conversion of industrial wasteland. ” The solution is there ! »Wants to believe Remy Dick. In Serémange-Erzange, Serge Jurczak, mayor, displays a more measured enthusiasm, “the case will perhaps not be so simple…” but he also pleads for the alternative, “far from being absurd” be well studied.

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